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WRITING | CREATIVITY
The Right Time to Write
Do we have to make the time to write?
Is there a right time to write?
Does the world view women writers and male writers differently?
‘Male writers are thought of as “writers” first and then “men”. As for female writers, they are first “female” and only then “writers.’
Elif Shafak, ‘Black Milk : On Writing, Motherhood, and the Harem Within
Does one have to finish all one’s chores, before one can afford to sit down and write? And does this affect men as well as women?
‘Women never have a half-hour in all their lives (excepting before or after anybody is up in the house) that they can call their own, without fear of offending or of hurting someone. Why do people sit up so late, or, more rarely, get up so early? Not because the day is not long enough, but because they have ‘no time in the day to themselves.’
Florence Nightingale, in 1852
The questions we ask ourselves: Why should I write? Isn’t it a waste of time? Can’t I be better employed, as a woman, calling up my children, cooking, cleaning, making sure there are no cobwebs in the house, pottering about the garden, keeping things away.
These are not our questions, sprung from our mind, exclusively. These are…
